A person has been taken to hospital after a ship collided with a crane at the Port of Tyne in South Shields, leaving a tangled wreckage that one witness described as 'horrific'.
Emergency services were called just after 1pm on Sunday, with Northumbria Police saying a ship had hit a dockside crane 'for reasons yet to be established'. A man was found with injuries not believed to be life-threatening and was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, where he remains.
“Man injured after ship hits crane at Port of Tyne; witness describes 'horrific' wreckage.”
The North East Ambulance Service dispatched three double-crewed ambulances, two clinical team leaders, a duty officer, three vehicles from its Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and was supported by the Great North Air Ambulance. One HART vehicle remained on standby to assist the fire service.
Photographs from the scene showed the crumpled crane leaning on the cargo ship BG Orange, operated by BG Freight Line, with several containers dislodged from their original positions. Mike, who runs the YouTube channel Urbex Drone View, flew a drone over the area after hearing about the incident online.
'When I arrived on the north side to get some drone footage, I was met with the tangled wreckage of the dockside crane, highlighting the sheer force of the incident,' he said. 'It was quite horrific to see something like that. You don't know who's injured. I think certainly a major incident was declared.'
He added: 'The amount of emergency vehicles there: fire engines, ambulances, and from what I've heard two air ambulances were deployed. Seeing the extent of the damage brought home just how serious the incident was.'
Police said enquiries remain ongoing to fully understand the circumstances of the collision.
